Ricerc@Sapienza

A cheap and small device for sampling atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has been recently developed. It works at a very low flow rate (0.5 L min–1) and is able to collect the atmospheric aerosol on filters, allowing subsequent chemical analyses. The samplings have a long duration (1–2 months), and the devices can be used to make cheap networks over a territory. These very-low-volume samplers (VLVS) can be used to trace long-term concentration variations and to draw up concentration maps of PM and its chemical components.

Red Mullet Mullus barbatus is an important target of fishing activities in the central Tyrrhenian Sea, so it is essential to identify its critical habitats in order to manage this resource efficiently. Our research specifically focused on the identification and characterization of nursery areas. The use of spatial interpolation techniques enabled us to identify five nurseries that were highly persistent through time.

The archaeological landscape of the Tadrart Acacus massif (SW Libya, central Sahara) is made of sites testimony of complex systems of cultural-specific settlement and economic strategies stretching over millennia of occupation. Here, caves and rock shelters represent the main physiographic features exploited by prehistoric herders. Climate fluctuations, settlement patterns and economic strategies regulate the depositional and post-depositional processes documented in the excavated sites.